Registered Dietitian · Nutrition Writer
Maya Chen
Maya writes about evidence-based nutrition, GLP-1 medications, and the science of tracking. She's particularly interested in how food data quality affects real-world outcomes for people on weight-loss journeys.
Posts by Maya (17)
How to track restaurant food you didn't cook
The hardest meal to track is the one someone else made. No label, no scale, no barcode. Here's how to log it honestly instead of giving up on the whole day.
Protein and muscle on a GLP-1: what the scale won't show you
On a GLP-1 the scale moves on its own. What it won't tell you is how much of the loss is muscle. Here's why protein matters more when you're eating less, and how to actually hit it.
Calorie targets after bariatric surgery — why your app should never refuse the number
A bariatric beta tester told us the iOS app wouldn't let her set 880 cal/day, even though her surgeon prescribed it. The bug is on us. But it's also a pattern in nearly every tracker on the App Store, and it tells you something about how the industry thinks about you.
What "evidence-based" actually has to mean now
Every nutrition app, supplement brand, and Instagram account in 2026 calls itself evidence-based. The term has lost most of its meaning. Here's what I actually evaluate when I use the phrase, and what I think you should ask of anyone using it about your food.
GLP-1 and macro tracking — why precision matters more, not less
GLP-1 medications change appetite, satiety, and food choices. Here's how macro tracking should adapt — and why "good enough" calorie estimates aren't.
Eating out on a cut — ordering strategies that don't blow your day
Restaurants are where most cuts go off the rails, but they don't have to. Here are the tactics that work without making you the difficult one at the table.
Postpartum macro tracking — the lactation modifier nobody mentions
Most tracking apps treat lactation as a footnote. The metabolic reality is anything but. Lactating bodies need 400-500 additional kcal/day plus an extra 15-25g of protein, and the timing across a feeding schedule matters more than the daily total.
GLP-1 plateaus — when the scale stalls and what it means
Most people on Wegovy, Ozempic, or Zepbound hit a plateau at some point. Some are signal. Most are noise. Here's how to tell which is which without panicking.
How to read a nutrition label like a dietitian
The label gives away more than most people realize — once you know what to look for. A practical walk-through of the lines that matter and the ones that don't.
Why protein targets matter more after 40 — especially for women
Sarcopenia starts earlier than most people realize, and the standard 0.8g/kg recommendation is set up to fail you. Here's what the research actually says about protein, age, and lean mass.
Compounded GLP-1s in 2026 — what changed and what to ask
The compounded GLP-1 market shifted hard between mid-2024 and now. The FDA shortage list ended for tirzepatide in early 2025; semaglutide compounding is on tighter footing too. Here's where things stand for patients in early 2026, and what to actually ask your prescriber.
Your TDEE math is wrong (and that's not your fault)
Mifflin–St Jeor + an activity multiplier is the standard, and for most women in their 30s and beyond it's off by 200–400 calories. The equation wasn't built for you. Here's what it gets wrong, what to use instead, and how to find your number with one week of data.
GLP-1 starter guide: the first 30 days
A week-by-week clinical guide to your first month on semaglutide or tirzepatide. What to expect, how to hit protein when food is unappealing, and when to call your prescriber.
New year, same approach
Patients who succeed long-term didn't restart their tracking January 1. They kept going through December. Here's what to actually do if you're motivated today.
Christmas Day is not a binge
The case for one designated non-tracking day per year. Weekly averages still hold, cortisol from food guilt costs more than the calories, and your weigh-in can wait until Tuesday.
Hydration is the most under-tracked variable in macros
Water and electrolytes affect scale weight, lift performance, energy, and appetite, yet almost no one tracks them. Here's a clinical framework for getting it right.
The trust problem with crowd-sourced macros
A patient logged the same wrap from 5 different community entries and got 320 to 780 calories. Here's why crowd-sourced nutrition data fails, and what to look for instead.